Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Fable 80: Canis et Lupus

Here's the next fable with a kind of running commentary that is not entirely possible within the confines of the forthcoming book from Bolchazy-Carducci. This will be Fable 80 in the book: De Cane et Lupo. For more information about this fable, see the Discussion Forum for this fable at the Aesopus Ning.

quomodo ille, = The pronoun refers to the dog, ille (canis), and quomodo introduces an indirect question which will take the subjunctive.

qui intra parietes privatos clauderetur, = The subjunctive provides causal background information; according to the wolf, this is why it is so surprising that the dog is fat (since the dog is locked up, he wouldn't be able to roam and hunt to find his food).

tam pinguis evaderet, = The subjunctive is in an indirect question, introduced by quomodo, while pinguis is a predicate adjective, agreeing with the subject, ille (canis).

et ipse tam macilentus foret, = The pronoun refers to the wolf, ipse (lupus), with foret as an alternative subjunctive form of esset, continuing the indirect question introduced by quomodo, with the predicate tam macilentus parallel to tam pinguis (just as the wolf wonders how the dog got to be so fat, he wonders how he got to be so skinny!).

qui = The referent of the relative pronoun is ipse, the wolf.

tot nemora, colles, et pascua = The word tot is undeclinable.

de iure suo possideret, = The subjunctive provides causal background information; according to the wolf, this is why it is so surprising that he, the wolf, is thin - since he does believe himself to have so much territory under his control!

ex quibus = The woods, hills and meadows provide the referent of the relative pronoun.

victum sibi compararet. = The subjunctive continues the explanation of the wolf's thoughts, and his surprise at the fact that he is so thin, since he has all this territory in which to hunt his food.

Respondit Canis = Presumably the wolf expressed his amazement out loud, since the dog answered him in reply!

se indulgentissimum habuisse herum, = Accusative plus infinitive construction in indirect statement, with se as the accusative subject, and herum as the object. The noun phrase, indulgentissimum herum, wraps around the infinitive, with the superlative expressing an extreme degree of something ("an extremely kind master"). You might expect the infinitive habere here; the perfect habuisse suggests the sense that the dog had gotten himself a master (an opportunity the wolf will decline!)

qui = The referent of the relative pronoun is the herum.

cibos illi quotidie de mensa sua porrigebat. = The referent of the pronoun illi is the dog: illi (cani).

Attonitus stetit paulisper Lupus = The literal meaning of the word attonitus is thunder-struck, as in the word tonitrus, "thunder," which comes from the same root.

nec meae paeniteo. = The verb paeniteo takes a genitive complement, and you can replace the word nec with the words et non to make the phrase easier to sort out: et meae (fortunae) non paeniteo.

Malim enim, = The subjunctive malim is part of an implied hypothetical statement: “I would prefer (if I had a choice)." Note also the postpositive particle in second position, as you would expect.

ieiunus et impastus, = The adjectives ieiunus and impastus agree with the subject of the verb.

praesenti frui libertate, = The noun phrase praesenti libertate wraps around the infinitive frui, which takes an ablative complement. (The infinitive frui is itself a complement to malim).

quam satur = The word quam coordinates a comparison introduced by malim (= magis + velim, where the comparison is expressed in the verb itself). Like ieiunus and impastus, the adjective satur agrees with the subject of malim.

catenis perstringi et fustibus contundi.”= The infinitives perstringi and contundi are also complements to malim, and express just what is being compared: enjoying freedom on the one hand, as opposed to being tied up and beaten.

Here is the illustration of the fable by Francis Barlow:

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About This Blog

This blog contains simplified fables adapted from Mille Fabulae et Una: 1001 Aesop's Fables in Latin. You can find out more about that book at the Mille Fabulae et Una blog, where you can also get a free PDF copy of the book. Here, I have simplified the syntax of the fables, changing the verbs to (mostly) present tense and removing complex constructions. I have not, however, made many changes to the vocabulary (I'm still figuring out just how to approach the idea of "simple vocabulary" in Latin) - but I am adding vocabulary lists to the fables I had previously published. You can browse the fables with vocabulary lists, and the new fables being added (3-4 per week) all come with vocabulary! To keep up with new content here and at the other Bestiaria Latina blogs, check out the Bestiaria Round-Ups.